device

Your mobile device could soon go the route of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

AT&T today unveiled AT&T Toggle, a service that allows you to create two separate and distinct identities on your smartphone or tablet. The first would be a personal account where you can freely browse the Internet, text your friends, and watch videos. A second, more secure identity would house your business apps and documents and can be managed by your company's IT department.

AT&T is using an app called Divide, which was created by start-up Enterproid.

The service will help aid the trend of individuals bringing their own devices to use at work, which kicked off with the iPhone a few years back and has spread to other smartphones and tablets. The announcement comes ahead of the CTIA Enterprise & Applications conference, which kicks off tomorrow in San Diego.

"When it comes to connected devices, one size doesn't fit all," said Chris Hill, vice president of advanced mobility services in AT&T's business services group. "People want to use their own smartphones and tablets for work, but that practice can create major headaches for businesses' IT departments."

Individuals like it because they're no longer constrained to the few options that companies give them on smartphones. Companies like it because they no longer have to bear the financial burden of outfitting their employees with mobile devices.

AT&T is hoping Toggle will provide a boost to this trend. The service will be available by the end of the year to phones running on Android 2.2, also known as Froyo, or higher. AT&T said it plans to expand the accessibility to other mobile operating systems next year. In addition, the service can work on phones running on any carrier.

AT&T plans to charge businesses a license fee of $5 per device each month on top of any other service fees. Once the company buys the license, it can assign it to an employee, who will be able to download the Toggle app from Android Marketplace or AT&T's application store.

Companies using the service will be able to allow certain employees the ability to access corporate data depending on their responsibilities. They will also be able to add, update, or delete business applications on their employees' personal devices, and remotely wipe corporate information on the device if it is lost or stolen. … Read more

There's a new fitness gadget making the rounds. Even more silly (not to mention sexual) than the good ol' Thigh Master and newcomer Shake Weight, the Free Flexor makes us giggle when it's in use.

Just watch the below commercial we found on YouTube, for starters. Within seconds, you will probably blush, laugh, and copy and paste the URL. We'd tell you why it makes us laugh, but we're too ashamed to get into it (no pun intended). Guaranteed, you will share it with your friends. Some of them might even buy it for novelty alone.

I'm not judging--I have a Shake Weight at home. I don't know if it really works, but it sure is a great conversation piece at house parties.

Now about the Free Flexor... We have yet to try it, so we couldn't tell you if it's effective or not. To get the lowdown, we turned to fitness experts for their opinions.… Read more

I have just one word for Wacom's new interactive pen display, the Cintiq 24HD: WANT. "Expensive" would be my alternative selection. Given its $2,499 price tag, it's out of reach for all but serious artists and designers. For those unfamiliar with the Cintiq line, they're displays with integrated pen tablets; in other words, they're the pen tablet equivalent of touch screens, so you can draw right on them.

Wacom's previous Cintiq products, the 21UX and 12WX, which remain in the product line, are certainly no slouches, but this model shows the attention … Read more

Dell is partnering with Chinese search engine Baidu to create smartphones and tablets for Chinese consumers, according to a story today from Reuters.

The mobile devices will run Baidu software based on the company's Baidu Yi mobile platform, which supports Android-based apps, a Dell spokeswoman told Bloomberg.

The move is seen as an attempt by Dell to gain more traction in a market of 900 million mobile customers, and one that's already dominated by Apple and Lenovo.

But at least one analyst is dubious about the strategy on Dell's part.

"I suspect this is just Dell, … Read more

It has been over a year since the iPhone 4 Antennagate debacle filled the pages of most tech blogs. In that time, everyone from random people on the street to Consumer Reports criticized the iPhone antenna issues, problems that a new patent application from Apple seeks to solve.

Sniffed out by Patently Apple, this application for a window that acts as an antenna may end up being one of the more important filings you'll see this year. In a nutshell, Apple is developing a composite that contains foam cells and could house the iPhone's (or other iDevice's) … Read more

Apple has reportedly completed a diagnostics solution for iOS that will enable users to send reports to Apple about their device remotely, obtaining useful tips and repair information when needed.

French Web site Hardmac reports that Apple has made the announcement of this new tool internally. According to Hardmac, the iOS device will connect to Apple via a special link (sent over e-mail or entered manually) and served in Mobile Safari as well as a connection to your phone service.

Apple will check your phone's reports and offer a solution based on any software or hardware malfunctions it detects. … Read more

When it comes to tools for integrating freehand art into the digital workflow, Wacom remains the leader. Its tools aren't perfect--and certainly aren't cheap--but it's hard to find any more respected. And when it comes to drawing, nothing yet beats pen (or pencil) and paper for fluidity and portability. Wacom attempts to combine the best of both worlds with its Inkling, a pen and receiver combo that tracks your penstrokes for up to 50 sketches and uploads them to a computer for use with applications like Photoshop or Illustrator.

This tutorial video from Wacom shows you how … Read more

TomTom's Live connected navigation service gets more useful with the addition of travel-specific apps by Yelp, TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Twitter. The TomTom Go Live 1535M will be the first device to take advantage of the new functionality, with owners of the Go Live 2353M gaining parity through a software update this fall.

The new apps will live in the Services menu and, to be fair, "Services" is a more apt description of the new functions than "Applications," but we shan't split hairs. What most of the apps do is provide access to a wider selection of points of interest (POIs) than could be preinstalled on the unit, along with secondary information about those POIs.… Read more

Two members of the U.S. Congress are asking government auditors to investigate the security risks of wireless medical devices, after they learned of a security researcher who found he could remotely control his own insulin pump and blood-sugar monitor.

Representatives Anna G. Eshoo, a California Democrat, and Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, senior members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office earlier this week asking the GAO to examine whether the Federal Communications Commission is ensuring that new medical devices and implants that use wireless technology can't be tampered … Read more